The article we are going to cover today concerns the legislative elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). With the electoral machine already in motion, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) has made public the lists of candidates selected for these elections which will take place on December 20.
Despite some tensions and disputes, the CENI recorded a record number of 28,791 applications, of which 3,796 were declared non-compliant. This therefore leaves 24,995 compliant candidates, who will be vying for the 500 seats in the lower house of the DRC parliament.
In the capital Kinshasa, the constituency of Lukunga is particularly in the spotlight, with 14 seats to be filled. Among the successful candidates, some well-known names from the Congolese political scene, such as Kayumba Shikilwe Bernard, Ntambwe Mposhi Charmant Eliezer and Mayobo Mpwene Godefroid.
There are also members of the current government, such as the Minister of Mines N’samba Kalambayi Antoinette, who is running on behalf of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS/Tshisekedi), as well as the Minister of Sports and Loisirs, Kabulo Mwana Kabulo François Claude, who is running for the Allied Political Forces at the UDPS.
Among the candidates, we can also note the presence of some civil society figures, such as the lawyer Hervé Diakiese Kyungu and the activist Gloria Senga, member of the citizens’ movement “LUCHA”.
Also note the participation of Mokia Mandembo Gabriel, presidential candidate of 2018, who is running this time for a seat in the national assembly.
Finally, new faces are appearing in the electoral race, such as media professionals and even churchmen.
These legislative elections in the DRC are therefore arousing great interest both nationally and in the capital Kinshasa, where the candidates listed for the constituency of Lukunga reflect the diversity and political challenges of the country.
We must now wait for the next stages of the electoral process to know the final results and observe the impact of these elections on the political future of the DRC